I really love this comic book. Glad to see Vertigo reprint this series in deluxe books. Book On collects the first three stories that's a total of 12 issues. I found these stories a little heavy with writing (which I actually like by the way), so best to read a story a day maybe. Felt like reading a collection of short stories in a weird way. These are really good tales for people into crime/detective fiction. I wasn't really a fan of the art in this book, but like I said before the reading is heavy, so I'm glad the art is simple.

Sandman Mystery Theatre is about Wesley Dodds for those who think this might have anything to do with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Wesley Dodds fights crime on the nighttime streets of New York City in 1938. I don't know much about the origin of the Sandman, but I know he first appeared in 1939, so I'm guessing this is kind of his origin (note to self: find the archive version of Sandman).

I think the strongest part of this book is two things one the relationship with Wes and Dian and how Wagner writes NYC. There are a ton of comics that take place in NYC and honestly not many actually make you feel like you're there with the characters, they make it feel like NYC is this fictions city. However, I think this comic book does an awesome job portraying 1930's NYC. The city is almost a character itself than just a backdrop. When they actually go to the Algonquin Hotel is when I got all excited and mentioning Dorothy Parker...thought I was reading Dorothy Parker again.

I also love the relationship with Wes and Dian in this book too. He waited a good amount of time before they actually kiss. I already knew they were a good comic book couple. I like how Dian is written too. She's literate, can do things on her own, but she still lives with her "daddy" and sometimes get into trouble. Interested to see how they handle the rest of the relationship in the books...spoiler they stay together I know that much.

Now why as this never been made into a movie? It all that DC wants in movies now. Darkness and realism...but it has a better story with better characters. I did pick up it's similar to the original golden age Batman at times, that is if that Batman actually made sense. Maybe that is why Sandman never really became popular, but who knows. I would love to see this comic book as a movie or TV show if it was done by the right people.

Now I'm excited to read the rest of this 70 issue series. I can't escape the Sandman's dark dreams.

Oh I should also note that yes Morpheus (Dream) does make two brief cameos in this book, but only see with his helm. I haven't read the full series , but don't expect this to be anything similar to Neil Gaiman's work. ( )

A bit of a mixed bag. The first story, The Tarantula, is really excellent - Guy Davis's style is kind of unusual compared to other comics I've read (it reminds me more of the cartoons you'd see in The New Yorker or something), but it fits the story really well. Matt Wagner's switching between the perspective of Dian, The Sandman, and Dodds (who really feel like two different characters despite being the same person) works really well.

The later stories are a bit of a mixed bag. The Face has a great concept for a villain, but sticks him in a plot about Chinatown gang wars that's not very interesting and often feels like it's walking the line between a period piece and another yellow peril story. The Brute just turns up the dials on all the worst parts of The Face, and that's all I'll say about it. An interesting start based on the strength of the first story alone, but there's a lot of room for improvement. ( )